Jon Voight is taking some time out of his busy film schedule and heading to television.  FOX revealed today that Voight, the Oscar-winning actor and father of Angelina Jolie, will join the cast of 24 for the show's seventh season.  Voight will be the man behind the curtain, the mastermind behind season 7's over-arching terrorist threat.  His character will be introduced during the two hour 24 prequel, which will air this November.  Since the first seven or so episodes of season 7 have already been filmed, viewers won't see Voight until mid-season, at the earliest. 

24, for all its excitement and plot twists and action, follows a similar story pattern every season.  One of their well-worn story devices is the late-in-the-season introduction of the ultimate bad guy, the mastermind behind all the terrorist activity the audience has witnessed early in the season.  Veteran 24 watchers are therefore no longer tricked by the “fake” bad guy early in the season.  With what we know and what we've seen of 24's seventh season, Tony Almeida is going to be set up as the lead antagonist early in the season.  You get the feeling that, by the time the middle of Day 7 comes along, Tony will become a sympathetic figure, with legitimate reasons for his actions.  Now, we know that Jon Voight will ultimately be the man who Jack Bauer will face off with. 

Voight follows in the footsteps of Tobin Bell, Dennis Hopper and James Cromwell as older, established actors who have portrayed Jack Bauer's end of the season foe.  24 does a lot of things well (until season 6, that is), but perhaps their greatest talent is in casting.  Each season has been filled with quality actors who have matched Kiefer Sutherland's insane intensity.  Jon Voight will surely be a formidable opponent for Kiefer, and it's an inspired piece of casting.


-Oscar Dahl, BuddyTV Senior Writer
Source: Hollywood Reporter
(Image Courtesy of Photorazzi)